Random musings

First of all, this meme has been amusing me, but for somewhat personal reasons. Long long ago, we had officially sanctioned clans on JediMUD. At the time they were implemented, I was still a low-ranking member of the administration, and i warned them all it would end in tears. I was sadly proven correct, and one of the first acts I undertook when I became a member of the administration team a few months later was to have them all desanctioned. Jedi’s official position became “You can create whatever affiliates you want between yourself and other players, but the administration will not recognize any of those affiliates as official nor extend any special treatment towards them.” I still think this is a reasonable policy.

Anyway, flash-forward a few years, when Dina and I were hanging out mortside and complaining that no one ever did anything for the sheer fun of it. So we founded Clan Quixotic. The only requirement to join was the willingness to, at the drop of a hat, band together to, say, go kill every dragon in the game, just for the heck of it. After Dina finished the papers she had to write for her Masters degree, we celebrated by making a list of the ten hardest mobs to kill in the game at that time, and setting out to kill them all in ascending order of difficulty. We were that kind of group.

Ah the good old days. I think it’s about time to wipe the dust of my mort’s armor and clock back to Minus Time for some hack and slash.

A lot of people have been writing a lot of good stuff about electronic voting machines and their disturbing lack of audit trails. This week, PBS’s Robert Cringley weighs in with a thoughtful analysis. Go read it, it’s good stuff.

One of my favourite comic strips right now is Jef Mallett’s Frazz. Today’s strip is a good example why: